Monday, November 15, 2010

Honey Bees are on order!

Angie called the Bee Supplier we have chosen, and ordered our Honey Bees today. Bees for starting hives are sold several ways, but the most popular way to start a hive is with "Package Bees". The most common "Package" size contains 3 pounds of Bees, along with a Queen. There are about 3,500 bees per pound, so a 3 lb. Package will contain about 10, 000 hungry mouths to feed!

Our supplier lives near Champaign, IL. Our bees should arrive around the 2nd week of April. We will drive up north to pick up our little friends, and come home and hive them. I plan to set up the video camera when we hive the bees, and post the video here on the blog. Angie and I are both looking forward to working with the bees.

The Bees we have chosen are an Italian strain of Honey Bee. They are a light colored, pretty little bee. They are a good choice for our area, because they are winter hardy, very good natured to work with, and they are good producers. Now, more than ever, we are looking forward to spring. In the meantime, I will be spending some time in the shop building more hive components. Here is a photo of an Italian Honey Bee.......pretty little girl, isn't she?